Van Hunt On World Cafe

Van Hunt is something like a cross between Thelonious Monk and Prince: throaty and suave yet artistic, bold and a little weird. His inventive style speaks to his strong will, a trait that propelled the college dropout to move from his home in Ohio to the music hub of Atlanta. There, he signed with a major label in 2001 and produced his self-titled debut album three years later. Since then, he's formed his own label, Godless Hotspot.

Hunt's latest album is Live at the Troubadour 2011. The concert setting suits his style: His wry, forlorn, dirt-beneath-the-fingernails lyrics are better suited to an old concert hall than a state-of-the-art recording studio. An artist whose impact hits harder in the moment, Hunt performs songs from his live album in this session of World Cafe.